The fountain that has been in development for over a year now has an updated deadline of Jan. 1, 2011.

Overall, work site improvements started in the year of 2009, and the intent was for the fountain to open summer 2010.

Spring 2010 was when the construction team dug in the shovel, and determined that there were problems and conflicts with the existing utilities in the form of the main boiler lines

Further investigation of the problem discovered that there was a high voltage electric line and hot water lines directly beneath the fountain.

The design concept was visualized and created by David Gates. It was first designed with 4 slabs of granite that were meant to represent the 4 tenants of education. Through the course of logistics and underground utility and electrical lines, it was redesigned to three slabs to make it fit

“We had the design team recheck what the problem was, and have them make a new design plan and redesign the configuration…” said Jack Herbert, construction project manager. “We do not want to have problems during the construction of the fountain, and having it destroyed when it is already right there.”

The fountain was part of the beautification projects for campus. First was the fountain; second was the mosaic pillar in bldg. 6; third was the mural wall in the gymnasium; and lastly, the painted tile mural for the stairs.

“There were design changes… [the fountain]wasn’t the top priority over other projects like roads.” Herbert said.

The budget for the fountain doesn’t come from the college’s operation money, but from the bond money from the chancellor’s fund. Part of that money was designed to improve the physical beauty of the campus.

“Art is a part of education. The fountain was seen as a sort of an experiential piece of architecture that can be touched, and is supposed to be interactive,” Herbert said.

Skyline has totally changed its image since then. Beautification was the goal.

“It makes the quad an even more inviting place to gather around. It composes the livability of the campus, making it a more attractive and comfortable place to be in,” Morrow said.